Galvanizing unit



Oct. 17, 1939. D. o. FISHER ET Al. 2,176,761

GALVANIZING UNIT Filed Jan. ll, 1937 5 Sh'eets-Sheet 1 q ATTO RN EYS.

Oct. 17, 1939. D. o. FISHER |:r AL 2,176,751

GALVANIZING UNIT Filed Jan. 11, 1957 5 sheets-sheet 2 4 ATTORN EYS.

Oct. 17, 1939. D. o. FISHER ET AL 2,176,761

GALVANIZING UNIT Filed Jan. ll, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 had INVENTOR S- .DA/v/n. 0. FISHER.

ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 17, 1939. D. o. FISHER Er A1.

lGALVANIZING UNIT 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. ll, 1937 ct, 17, @39 D. o. FISHER ET AL GALVANIZ ING UNIT FileJan. 11, 1937 5 sheets-sheet 5 Patented oet. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PF1-cs y GALVANIZIN G- UNIT Application January 11, 1937, Serial No.1119,932

x 2 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for conveying sheets of metal and more particularly to devices for transferring sheets of metal from a conveyor along which they are moving in a longi- 5 tudinal direction broad-side or transversely off said conveyor as, for example, onto the spokes of a cooling wheel. For example, in a galvanizing unit, sheets may be passed through a spelter bath and provision must be made for cooling such l sheets prior to stacking or roller leveling. For such purposes, cooling wheels are quite generally used, such cooling wheels comprising a large number of spokes disposed in parallel relation about a hub and the sheets rest on the various sets of 15 spokes against the hub. From the cooling wheel the sheets may be transferred to another conveyor and thereafter treated in any desired manner as by roller leveling and piling.

It is an object of our invention to provide an 20 arrangement for accomplishing the transfer of sheets from a conveyor upon which they are moving in a longitudinal direction laterally onto a cooling wheel.

In this' connection there is a problem in regard 25 to the amount by which the sheets are laterally moved.. If the position of the conveyor is i'lxed and if the position of the hub of the cooling wheel is xed and sheets of different widths are being galvanized, it will be clear that if the transfer 30 device were arranged to move the sheets a set amount which was set for a certain Width of sheet, then if a different width of sheet were being galvanized, the transfer devicey would either fail to thrust the sheets all the way into the hub of the cooling wheel, or it would thrust them in too far and buckle them.

It is a further object of our invention, therefore, to provide an arrangement whereby sheets regardless of their width will be accurately transferred into the cooling wheel.

These and other objects of our invention which we will describe hereinafter or which will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, we acomplish by that certain 1 construction and arrarngement of parts and by that method of procedure of which we shall now describe exemplary embodiments.

Reference is now made to the drawings which form a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a galvanizing unit.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the cooling wheel taken on the line 2,-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 isa sectional view of the transfer table taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

(Cl. MBS-103) Figure llis a partial sectional view of the transfer, table taken on the line @-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of the transfer table taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a wiring dagram showing certain parts of the unit diagrammatically in orderto show the functions of the wiring diagram parts.`

Figure 7 shows the cam indicated in the various figures as limit switch #L Figure 8 is a View of the cam shown in the various gures as limit switch #2.

Briefly in the practice of our invention, we provide an arrangement for transferring sheets coming lengthwise along a conveyor broadside from said conveyor, as for example into the spokes of a cooling wheel.

In the drawings, the conveyor C carries the sheets to a transfer table indicated generally at D where the sheets are moved broadside into a set of arms on the cooling wheel E. The cooling wheel E carries the sheets around through a blast of cooling air and deposits them on the conveyor J which carries them further, as for example, to a piling mechanism. The conduct of the sheet through the unit from the galvanizing pot to the piling mechanism is absolutely automatic. For accomplishing this automatic conveyance of the sheet through the machine, there are provided at various points certain electrical devices, the operation of which will be described hereinafter.

The sheets passing from the galvanizing bath are carried along conveyor table C which is preferably of the disc type, and which may be driven, to the transfer table D.

On account of the fact that the sheets must be moved transversely 01T the transfer table into the cooling wheel, the disc type conveyor is substitutedby a cylindrical roll type of conveyor. As best seen in Figures 5 and 6, the rolls 10 are driven by the motor 1|. Between the rolls 10, at spaced intervals, are provided the guides 12 for the transfer chains 1'3 which carry the upstanding lugs 14. The chains 13 are driven by the motor -15 which is provided with a brake 16. The rotation of the motor ,151 is imparted by means of chain sprockets to the shaft 11, which carries the sheaves 18, over which the transfer chains 13 pass. Mounted on the shaft 11 is a sprocket 19 which drives the sprocket 80 on the shaft BI by means of the chain 82.

In order that the sheets be uniformly coated in` the galvanizing pot, it is necessary that the sheet or strip be run so that the center of the sheet is in the center of the galvanizing pot and the spangle control rolls. The result of this is that with narrow|sheets the edge of the sheet is not discharged onto the tables C and D in the same vrelative position as it is on wide sheets. A probstarting position of the dogs 14. The dogs 14 are,

of course, spaced apart somewhat more than the width of thewidest sheet which is expected to be used and therefore if a set of dogs 14 on the chains 13 is preset to be slightly beyond the edge of any particular width of sheet and then the dogs are arranged a predetermined distance 'which is the same regardless of the widths of the sheets, the leading edge of the sheets will always be brought into the cooling wheel a proper distance. The travel of the transfer chains 13 is intermittent and is produced by a cam which will be described in more detail hereinafter. We have provided means for presetting the point at which the travel of the feed dogs 14 begins, as shown in Figure '7. We have interposed between the sprocket and the above-mentioned cam which is contained within the casing 83, a two- .lawed ratchet element indicated generally at 84. One jaw of this drive is slidably mounted upon a shaft 8| which carries the sprocket 80 and thev other law is mounted on the shaft which carries the above-mentioned cam. A spring 95 is interposed between the bracket carryingthe shaft 8| and the sliding jaw in order to keep the two jaws 84'in engagement. 'I'hus in order to change the position of the dogs 1'4 in the 'chain 13 it is only necessary to disengage the jaw 84 against the pressure of the spring 95, and let it snap back when the desired position of the dogs 14 has been secured. As shown in Figure 5 we have provided a photo cell element indicated generally at 88 and 81 for the purpose of initiating the movement of the transfer chains.

The cooling wheel is shown in more detail in Figure 4. This wheel is mounted in trunnions at 90 and 9| and is driven through a gear reducer Aby the motor 92. The motor 93 drives the blower in-l dicated generally at 94. In order to cool the Vsheets uniformly it is necessary to have air blown at substantial velocities passing evenly around the sheets. We accomplish this by uniform distribution of the cooling'air supplied by thefan 94 driven by the motor 93, through the ducts 95, 96, 91 and 98. 'I'he airis distributed by openings l in these ducts so that it is uniformly distributed out along the axis of the cooling wheel and underneath it. From these ducts the air is discharged upwardly and passes between the spokes of the cooling wheel. In order to confine the path of the cooling air upwardly through vthe sheets, we have provided the baie plates 99 and |00. After the sheet has passed around substantially one-half the circumference of the cooling l Wheel, step by step, it is deposited -by the arms |0| onto the discs of the conveyor J. The arms |0|, of course, pass downwardly between thediscs The electrical circuit and its operation The operator closes master switch M S F or the photocell contact closes, as desired. 'I'he contactor coil F is energized closing switch F' and auxiliary switch F and opening auxiliary switch F'". The circuit of contactar coil F is completed through limit switch LS#2 and switches LV', OL and` EST, LV being the low voltage switch, 0L being the overload switch and EST being the emergency stop switch.

The transfer table now is running forward and the sheet is delivered into the cooling. wheel. After the transfer' table has traveled a distance of approximately 50 inches, limit'switch No. 1 which is geared to the transfer table drive has made one revolution. Cam W of limit switch No. 1 closes after the limit switch has rotatedl a few the master switch M S F and the photocell contact. Cam X of limit switch No. 1 closes momentarily at the end of one revolution of limit switch No. 1. At the completion, of one revolution of limit switch No, 1 cam W thereof opens, thereby deenergizing the contacter coil F and stopping motor 15 and applying brake 16.

'I'he function and purpose 'of limit switch LS'#2 is as follows: After a sheet has been fed into the cooling wheel, the sheet depresses the arm of limit switch #2 Figi 1 opening the contact thereof. The transfer table can now notl be started up again until the cooling wheel has moved one space thus preventing the. feeding of another sheet into the cooling wheel. l

Cam X of limit switch #I which closes momentarily at the end of one revolution of limit switch #.I energizes contact `coil |30 momentarily.

Contact |30' of contacter |30 closes thus completing a sealed-in circuit through cam Y of limit switch #3 which is geared to the 4cooling wheel drive. v

' Contact |30',' Vof l contacter |30 also closes therebyenergizing contactar coil P. Switch P closes energizing motor 92 of the cooling wheel.

Limit switch 118,#,3 is geared tothe cooling wheel in such a manner that one revolution of limit switch #3 corresponds to the travel of one sprocket space of the cooling wheel.

Cam Z of limit switch #3 closes an instant before the cam switch Y thereof opens, after the cam switch has made one-half revolution. Upon completion ofon'e complete revolution of limit switch #3 cam Z thereof' opens thus deenergizing `contactor coll P, opening switch P' and .stopping,.motor. 92 and applying brake 92a.

Limit switch 4 which is in the circuit of contactor coil P is operated by the sheet at the exit side of the cooling wheel. As long as limit switch #4 is being depressed by the sheet resting on the run-out table, the cooling wheel cannot be started up, thus preventing the buckling up of another sheet at the exit side of the cooling wheel. y

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: t

1. In a `gal-vanizing apparatus having a coolingvwheel and a conveyor, means for transporting the material being galvanized from said conveyor into said cooling wheel regardless of the width of said materiahsaid means comprising chains, dogs on said chains, mechanism for driving said chains in the direction of the cooling wheel a predetermined distance which is at leastA as great as that'required to properly insert the narrowest material'into said wheel, and means interposed between said mechanism and said chains for selectively predetermining the starting locus of a group of said dogs in accordance nsv with the particular width of material being galvanized.

2. In a galvanizing apparatus having a cooling wheel and a conveyor, means for transporting the material being galvanized from said conveyor into said cooling wheel regardless of the width of said material, said means comprising chains, dogs on s'aid chains, mechanism for driving said chains in the direction of the cooling wheel a predetermineddistance which is at least as great as that required to properly insert the narrowest material into said wheel, and means for selectively predetermining the starting locus of a group of said dogs in accordance with the particular Width of material being galvanized, said last mentioned means comprising a clutch interposed between said mechanism and said chains.

DANIEL O. FISHER.

KRISTIAN KRONBORG.

ERNEST G. SCHLUP. 

